Water propelled boat



y 28, 1954 w. J. SORRENTINO ETAL 3,142,285

' WATER PROPELLED BOAT Filed Sept. 10, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MAM/14 IOZEE/V77/VO W44 76? M05 INVENTORJ ArraeA/E/I y 1964 w. J. SORRENTINO ETAL 3,142,285

WATER PROPELLED BOAT Filed Sept. 10, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M41 $4M J. J'QFQE/VW/W INVENTORJ United States Patent 3,142,285 WATER PROPELLED BOAT William .I. Sorrentino, North Hollywood, and Walter Moe, Burbank, Califl, assignors to Alhin Enterprises Inc, Burbank, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Sept. 10, 1962, Ser. No. 222,533 3 Claims. Cl. 115ll2) This invention relates to a boat capable of being occupied by one or more persons and adapted for travel on the surface of a body of water through the use of a supply of pressurized fluid and, in particular, relates to such a boat wherein the pressurized fluid serves to propel the boat in a forward direction as well as causing turning of the boat.

conventionally, boats have employed propellers driven by internal combustion engines or battery operated electric motors in order to obtain the forward propelling force. Often a boat of this type is operated in a body of water where there are swimmers and such a rotating propeller becomes hazardous and can seriously injure a swimmer. There are bodies of water or portions of bodies of water where it may be desirable and enjoyable to operate a boat, but this serious hazard has resulted in such operation being either prohibited or prevented due to practical considerations.

Furthermore, the expense of motor or engine driven propeller apparatus for boats is relatively high and their operation relatively complex so that the use of such boats as amusement devices for children has not been widely accepted. The operation of such boats by children can be hazardous to both the operator and any swimmers.

The operation of a propelled boat is somewhat different than the operation of a vehicle on land and the training of persons to operate boats by the use of a propelled boat which is relatively stable and harmless in its operation, obviously can be advantageous to the preparation for operation of various other types of boats. A small boat of this type may be used in swimming pool for both the amusement of children and the training of children or others in the operation of self-propelled boats. To be practical such a boat must be relatively inexpensive in original and operational costs and simple and not dangerous to operate.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a novel form of self-propelled boat wherein a source of pressurized fluid is used for producing the propelling force and for inducing turning of the boat as desired.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel form of a boat propelled by a jet of pressurized fluid wherein the particular orientation of the jet with respect to the hull of the boat produces an unusually stable operation of the boat in both forward and turning movement.

A further object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive self-propelled boat which is relatively simple in its operation and construction by the provision of a single control for producing changes in both velocity and direction.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an occupiable propelled boat for use in a swimming pool or the like wherein the force of propulsion is obtained from pressurized water delivered to the boat from a conventional water faucet through a flexible hose.

A further and more detailed object of this invention is to provide a control mechanism for a water propelled boat wherein movement of a single lever in various directions serves to control the speed of propulsion of the boat and direction of motion.

Other and more detailed objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

3,142,285 Patented July 28, 1964 In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the boat of this invention floating in a body of water.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the control mechanism and a portion of the boat of this invention.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional elevation view taken substanially on the line 33 as shown in FIGURE 2, and illustrates the relative location of the parts of the control mechanism when a jet of water may be discharged to propel the boat.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional elevation view similar to FIGURE 3 illustrating the relative location of such parts when the boat is not being propelled by a jet of water.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional plan view taken substantially on the line 55 as shown in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional plan view taken substantially on the line 66 as shown in FIGURE 4.

FIGURES 7, 8 and 9 are views of the bottom of the boat illustrating three different positions of the water jet and the resultant direction of movement of the boat in each situation.

Referring now to the drawings, the boat generally designated 16) may be of any convenient size and configuration with the configuration shown having been found to be relatively stable in operation for a size adapted to be occupied by one or a few persons. The boat 10 may be of any convenient construction and materials, such as foamed or expanded polymers, expanded styrene having been found satisfactory, or vacuum formed sheet plastic joined together to form a hollow hull. In the configuration shown, the boat It) has a bow 11 and a stern 12 with a relatively flat bottom surface 13. A fin 14 projects downwardly from the bottom surface 13 and extends longitudinally along the center line of the hull near the stem 12, the importance and function of which will be hereinafter shown. The boat 10 is provided with a passenger compartment 15 and the control mechanism, generally designated 16, is mounted in the forward portion of the passenger compartment 15.

The control mechanism 16 includes a flanged collar 17 mounted in the bottom of the boat and a second flanged collar 18 mounted in the upper portion of the boat. The collars 1'7 and 18 are mounted in the boat in axial alignment with each other and the construction of the boat is such that there is little or no relative movement between the two collars. Collar 17 has a radial flange portion 19 which is mounted substantially flush with or just below the bottom surface 13 of the hull of the boat 10. The collar 18 has a radial flange portion 20 and a substantially cylindrical internal bore 21.

The flanged collar 17 has a round opening 22 in the upper end with a substantially cylindrical bore 23 adjacent opening 22 and a larger diameter than opening 22 to form a radial shoulder 24 between opening 22 and bore 23. Below cylindrical bore 23 is a frusto-conical internal surface in collar 17 having the upper-smaller diameter equal to that of bore 23. The lower-larger diameter of frustoconical surface 25 is open to the bottom of the boat.

The control mechanism 16 also includes an operating member generally designated 26. The member 26 has an extension rod 27 of the appropriate length and diameter to slidably and rotatably fit within the bore 21 of collar 13 and the opening 22 of collar 17. On the lower end of extension rod 27, the member 26 has a nozzle portion 28. The nozzle portion 28 has an external frustoconical surface 29 adapted to mate in sealing relationship with the internal frustoconical surface 25 of the flange collar 17. The nozzle portion 28 is provided with internal chamber 30 and an internally threaded opening 31 on the lower end thereof for connection to the supply of pressurized fluid. The nozzle portion 28 is provided with a bore or jet opening 32 extending from the chamber 30 outwardly through the frustoconical surface 29. Although it is not essential, the opening 32 is preferably oblong in cross-section having a greater width, as shown in FIGURE 6, than height, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. Further, although it is also not essential, it has been found advantageous to have the jet opening 32 directed downwardly at a small angle to the horizontal such as the three degrees (3") shown in FIGURE 3.

A flexible hose 33 has one end connected to a source of fluid under pressure and the other end connected to a fitting 34. Fitting 34 has an externally threaded end 35 adapted to be threadedly secured in the internal threaded opening 31 of nozzle portion 28. Fitting 34 is also provided with a swivel portion 36 to permit turning of the nozzle portion 28 and boat with respect to hose 33.

An operating lever 37 is provided and pivotally mounted to the upper end of extension rod 27 by pin 38. The operating lever 37 has a handle portion 39 on one side of the pivot pin 38 and a cam portion 40 on the other side of pivot pin 38. By turning the operating lever 37 in a horizontal plane, the operating member 26, through extension rod 27, is rotated within flange collars 17 and 18 and nozzle portion 28 is likewise rotated with respect to the hull of the boat 10. Pivoting the operating lever 37 about the pin 38 by raising the handle portion 39 upwardly, causes the extension rod 27 to be raised vertically within the flange collars 17 and 18 due to the cam portion 40 engaging flange portion and being at a greater radial distance from pivot pin 38 than the sides 41 of the operating lever 37.

When pressurized fluid is passed through hose 33 to chamber 30 and the control mechanism is in the position shown in FIGURE 3, with jet opening 32 below flange 19, the pressurized fluid will be discharged through jet opening 32, thus causing the boat 10 to be propelled in a direction opposite to the direction of such jet of pressurized fluid. However, when the operating lever 37 is in a vertical position as shown in FIGURE 4, the extension rod 27 is in its uppermost position and the frustoconical surface 29 of nozzle portion 28 engages the internal frustoconical surface of flange collar 17 in a sealing relationship to thereby close off the jet opening 32. In this latter position there is no pressurized fluid being discharged through jet opening 32 and there fore there is no propelling force imparted to the boat 10. If the handle portion 39 of operating lever 37 is raised to intermediate positions between those shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, the jet opening 32 will be partially obstructed by the lowermost portion of frustoconical surface 25 of collar 17 to reduce the propelling force of the jet of pressurized fluid being discharged through jet opening 32. Thus, it can be seen that the propelling force can be varied between zero and the maximum merely by raising the handle portion 39 of the operating lever 37, and as a result the velocity of the boat can be easily varied.

In order to effect the proper positioning of the extension rod 27 and nozzle portion 28 for a particular raised or lowered position of handle portion 39 of operating lever 37, a coil compression spring 42 is provided which surrounds extension rod 27 at its lower extremity and extends between radial shoulder 24 of flange collar 17 and a radial shoulder 43 on the upper portion of the nozzle portion 28. A resilient washer 44 may be positioned between the lower end of spring 42 and the shoulder 43 to permit ease of turning of the operating member 26 with respect to flange collar 17. The compression spring 42 is installed in a precompressed condition as shown in FIGURE 3 so that the extension rod 27 and nozzle 28 are continually biased to their lowermost position for the particular position of operating lever 37.

The various components of control mechanism 16 may be constructed in various configurations to establish the relationships heretofore set forth and may be of any convenient materials. It has been found that the shapes shown perform satisfactorily and for minimizing costs the components may be of a plastic material such as Cycolac. Referring particularly to FIGURES 5 and 6, it has been found that when the flange collars 17 and 13 and extension rod 27 are formed of a plastic that the collars may be provided with reinforcing ribs 45 and the extension rod 27 may have an X cross-section.

Thus in operation it may be seen that a hose 33 or the like is connected to a source of pressurized fluid such as a water faucet and is connected to the nozzle portion 23 of the control mechanism 16. With the pressurized fluid being supplied from a remote location, it is possible to provide a valve at that location for monitoring the fluid pressure supplied to the boat 10 to thereby control the maximum velocity at which the boat will travel when jet opening 32 is fully exposed as in FIGURE 4. The operator positioned in the compartment 15 may vary the actual velocity of the boat 10 by raising and lowering the handle portion 39 of the operating lever 37 as heretofore described. The operator may also vary the direction of motion of the boat 10 by turning the operating lever 37 in a horizontal plane about the axis of extension rod 27, and can actually cause reverse motion by turning lever 37 180 from the position shown in FIGURE 2.

Referring particularly to FIGURES 7, 8 and 9, when the jet opening 32 is pointed directly toward the stern 12 of boat 10 as in FIGURE 8, the boat will travel in a forward direction as shown by arrow 46 due to the prossurized fluid being discharged in a longitudinal rearward direction as shown by arrows 47. As operating lever 37 is turned to thereby turn operating member 26, the jet opening 32 will be pointed rearwardly at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the boat and the pressurized fluid discharged through jet opening 32 in one direction as shown by arrows 48 will cause the boat to turn in the opposite direction as shown by arrows 49, as illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 9. When the jet opening is pointed in an ofl-center direction, such as shown in FIGURES 7 and 9, the propelling force of the jet of pressurized fluid is comprised of a longitudinally forward component of force and a side component of force. In order to cause the boat to actually turn rather than merely slipping sideways (due to the side component of force) while moving in a forward direction, the fin 14 has been provided. As the boat tends to slide sideways due to this lateral component of force, the body of water imposes a side force on fin 14 in the direction of arrow 50 to resist the sideways slipping and cause turning of the boat. Since the propelling force is near the how 11, the fin 14 is positioned near the stern 12 so that the turning force is accentuated.

Thus, it may be seen that by positioning the propelling fluid jet opening near the bow of the boat rather than the stern as is conventional, the boat is pulled around a turn rather than the stern being pushed around a turn in the opposite direction. The operational characteristics of this boat have been found to be exceptionally good due to this arrangement. Furthermore, by this invention a relatively simple and inexpensive control mechanism is provided which is operative by a single lever to control both direction and speed of the boat.

Having fully described our invention it is to be understood that we do not wish to be limited to the details herein set forth or to the details illustrated in the drawings, but our invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a boat adapted for occupancy and to be propelled by a supply of pressurized fluid, the combination of: a hull having a bottom surface, a fluid-flow control means including a flanged collar mounted on said bottom surface of the hull, said collar having a frustoconical inner surface with the smaller diameter above the larger diameter and said inner surface being open at the bottom, said control means including a nozzle portion having an internal chamber and means for operatively connecting the supply of pressurized fluid to said internal chamber, said nozzle portion having an external frustoconical surface for mating with said inner surface of the collar in sealing relation, said nozzle portion having a jet opening extending generally horizontally in one direction from said internal chamber through said external frustoconical surface, and means for progressively moving said nozzle portion in and out of said collar and positioning said jet opening above or below, respectively, the lowermost portion of said frustoconical inner surface, the pressurized fluid being discharged from said internal chamber through that portion of said jet opening positioned below the lowermost portion of said frustoconical inner surface for propelling the boat with a corresponding magnitude of force.

2. In a boat adapted for occupancy and to be propelled by a supply of pressurized fluid, the combination of: a hull having a bottom surface, a fluid-flow control means including a flanged collar mounted on said bottom surface of the hull, said collar having a frustoconical inner surface with the smaller diameter above the larger diameter and said inner surface being open at the bottom, said control means including a nozzle portion having an internal chamber and means for operatively connecting the supply of pressurized fluid to said internal chamber, said nozzle portion having an external frustoconical surface for mating with said inner surface of the collar in sealing relation, said nozzle portion having a jet opening extending generally horizontally in one direction from said internal chamber through said external frustoconical surface, means for progressively moving said nozzle portion in and out of said collar and positioning said jet opening above or below, respectively, the lowermost portion of said frustoconical inner surface, the pressurized fluid being discharged from said internal chamber through that portion of said jet opening positioned below the lowermost portion of said frustoconical inner surface for propelling the boat with a corresponding magnitude of force, and means for turning said nozzle portion about a 5 substantially vertical axis for changing the orientation of said jet opening to change the direction of propulsion of the boat.

3. In a boat adapted for occupancy and to be propelled by a supply of pressurized fluid, the combination of: a hull having a bottom surface, a fluid-flow control means including a flanged collar mounted on said bottom surface of the hull, said collar having a frustoconical inner surface with the smaller diameter above the larger diameter and said inner surface being open at the bottom, said control means including a nozzle portion having an internal chamber, said nozzle portion having an external frustoconical surface for mating with said inner surface of the collar in sealing relation, said nozzle portion havin a jet opening extending generally horizontally in one direction from said internal chamber through said external frustoconical surface, a flexible conduit of the length of range of travel of said boat, said conduit connected to the supply of pressurized fluid, swivel means for connecting said conduit to the bottom of said nozzle portion in fluid communication with said internal chamber and for suspending said conduit from the boat, an extension rod extending upwardly from said nozzle portion and being slidably and rotatably journaled in said hull, and means for causing vertical and rotational movement of said extension rod to change the position of said jet opening with respect to said collar and hull whereby the said jet opening may be closed or opened for varying the magnitude of propulsion force and the direction of discharge of fluid varied for changing the direction of propulsion of the boat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,525,275 Deason et al. Feb. 3, 1925 1,842,858 Couzinet Jan. 26, 1932 2,024,274 Campini Dec. 17, 1935 2,379,834 Sharp July 3, 1945 2,844,120 Nelson July 22, 1958 2,991,587 Blanchard July 11, 1961 2,991,744 Ensley et al. July 11, 1961 3,078,617 Dempsey Feb. 26, 1963 

1. IN A BOAT ADAPTED FOR OCCUPANCY AND TO BE PROPELLED BY A SUPPLY OF PRESSURIZED FLUID, THE COMBINATION OF: A HULL HAVING A BOTTOM SURFACE, A FLUID-FLOW CONTROL MEANS INCLUDING A FLANGED COLLAR MOUNTED ON SAID BOTTOM SURFACE OF THE HULL, SAID COLLAR HAVING A FRUSTOCONICAL INNER SURFACE WITH THE SMALLER DIAMETER ABOVE THE LARGER DIAMETER AND SAID INNER SURFACE BEING OPEN AT THE BOTTOM, SAID CONTROL MEANS INCLUDING A NOZZLE PORTION HAVING AN INTERNAL CHAMBER AND MEANS FOR OPERATIVELY CONNECTING THE SUPPLY OF PRESSURIZED FLUID TO SAID INTERNAL CHAMBER, SAID NOZZLE PORTION HAVING AN EXTERNAL FRUSTOCONICAL SURFACE FOR MATING WITH SAID INNER SURFACE OF THE COLLAR IN SEALING RELATION, SAID NOZZLE PORTION HAVING A JET OPENING EXTENDING GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY IN ONE DIRECTION FROM SAID INTERNAL CHAMBER THROUGH SAID EXTERNAL FRUSTOCONICAL SURFACE, AND MEANS FOR PROGRESSIVELY MOVING SAID NOZZLE PORTION IN AND OUT OF SAID COLLAR AND POSITIONING SAID JET OPENING ABOVE OR BELOW, RESPECTIVELY, THE LOWERMOST PORTION OF SAID FRUSTOCONICAL INNER SURFACE, THE PRESSURIZED FLUID BEING DISCHARGED FROM SAID INTERNAL CHAMBER THROUGH THAT PORTION OF SAID JET OPENING POSITIONED BELOW THE LOWERMOST PORTION OF SAID FRUSTOCONICAL INNER SURFACE FOR PROPELLING THE BOAT WITH A CORRESPONDING MAGNITUDE OF FORCE. 